Painting the gown red

By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-13 10:50

A model shows off Chinese designer Frankie Xie Feng's latest creation at his JEFEN 2010 Spring/Summer collection show.

Three huge gold frames were tilted at an angle at the far end of the T-stage, as a model walked through one of them in a pure white corset gown. Then, the Columbian artist Francesca Brenda-Mitterrand stepped on stage and added freestyle acrylic elements to the gown, creating a unique dress combining fashion and art.

The demonstration, on Saturday at the Beijing Grand Hyatt Hotel ballroom, launched the Chinese brand JEFEN 2010 Spring/Summer collection, comprising some 40 pieces that featured the designer Frankie Xie Feng's clothes and Brenda-Mitterrand's acrylic paintings.

Interestingly, the JEFEN catwalk show was not part of the recent biannual China Fashion Week organized by the Chinese Fashion Designer's Association. Xie, the first Chinese designer to show in Paris Fashion Week, obviously does not need the platform.

His show, dubbed Over There, because it was the product of two artists from "over there" was full of soft fabrics such as silk and chiffon and the bright colors from Brenda-Mitterrand's brushes swept away the winter gloom.

"Brenda-Mitterrand and I come from different cultural background and work in different fields," the 49-year-old Xie said before his show. "It is like two persons standing on either side of a river. We saw each other and were inspired by each other."

This is not the first time Xie has collaborated with artists. Xie's collection, Harmony, at Paris Fashion Week in March 2008, featured Chinese calligraphist Luo Qi's work. Then, in October 2008, his collection Peach Blossom featured artist Du Juemin's ink paintings of peach blossoms.

Early this year, an editor of the Chinese fashion magazine Cosmopolitan introduced Brenda-Mitterrand to him and they immediately struck up a rapport. She has a studio in the artist's village of Songzhuang, Beijing, in addition to her Paris studio.

"At first glance (her paintings) are definitely Western-styled art, but the longer I looked at them the more connections between her art and Chinese ink paintings became apparent to me.

"Chinese philosophy, culture and art have always been my inspiration but Brenda-Mitterrand's art broadened my vision and you can sense the power and beauty of the cross-cultural designs," Xie says.

Xie loved painting as a youngster and studied painting and textile printing at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. After graduating in 1984, he left his hometown Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, to study fashion design at Tokyo's Bunka Fukuso Gakuin (Bunka Fashion College).

After graduating in 1990 he started working at Nicole Company with Japanese fashion designer Mistuhiro Mazda, where he learned about choosing fabrics, printing, designing, cutting, producing, marketing and managing a fashion house.

After 10 years in Japan and regular visits to France and Italy, Xie launched his own label, JEFEN, in Beijing in 2000. In 2006, JEFEN's ready-to-wear collection, Door, made it to Paris Fashion Week and ever since, Xie has shown twice a year there.

"I was happy to be the first Chinese designer to showcase in Paris but I hope that in the future I won't be the only one," the designer said.

"One or two designers getting world recognition does not mean China has become a new power in the fashion world Westerners show great interest in Chinese design, Chinese elements, but if you cannot meet their standards they will not recognize you."

While Xie excels in artistry, innovation and appropriate use of Chinese elements, many Chinese fashion labels lack these qualities.

Almost all the world's leading labels have their ready-to-wear made in China and consider it their most promising market.

Meanwhile, a large number of domestic manufacturers have turned into fashion houses, employ local designers and are developing their own labels.

"We are trying to change the image from 'made in China' to 'designed in China', but it will take time and effort. We should emphasize art education from a young age and young designers should have more opportunities to observe and learn from abroad," the designer says.